Samantha L. Madrid

The Honorable Judge Samantha Madrid was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico to
one of the founding families of the Mesilla Valley. She obtained her bachelor
degree in English and History from the University of New Mexico. She later went
on to serve as a High School Teacher in the Inner-city of Fort Worth, Texas. She
discovered her passion for the law and fighting for the rights of those less
fortunate.
Due to this passion, she decided to attend the University of New Mexico Law
School where she graduated and obtained her license. She went on to serve at a
large personal injury law firm focusing on misplacement, abuse, and wrongful
death of children in the state foster care system.
Finally, she moved back to her beloved home in Las Cruces, New Mexico to work
in the areas of Family Law, Personal Injury and Criminal Defense. She closed her
private practice to serve as an Assistant District Attorney and then Magistrate
Judge of Dona Ana County for eight years. During her tenure as judge she
presided over thousands of trials and was the presiding judge over Drug Court for
two years. Drug Court was an extraordinary opportunity to help those in need of
substance abuse counseling.
Her diverse experience and dedication to the less fortunate has made her a strong
advocate for the oppressed. Her work in the prosecution of domestic violence also
made her a fair, impartial and compassionate Judge.